Jon and Steve...you guys don't need to read this shit.

I was actually going to comment on the game endings and the film discussion over at Steve's blog. Maybe I can make a guest appearance on his blog so all his friends can read what I want to say. I think they would enjoy what I have to say. Now onto the more important subject of Socom 2. Everyone get out your keyboards and prepare to copy this next line of text and paste it back IF I'm still playing Socom 2 as much as Socom 1.

"Socom 2 is overrated."

Maybe now Captain will fucking blog for once in his life since he cherishes this game like its his baby. How he can overlook all these flaws are beyond all my comprehension. Here it goes. (I threw in this paragraph just to make Andy blog although he does seem blind...)

So here it is. A rundown of what made the original Socom so great. First of all Socom was overrated. It had mediocre graphics. It had mediocre game types. It had stupid fucking players on the servers. It can't even be considered a first person shooter...just a better executed Syphon Filter. Then why did I play it? Why did I spend a year on this game? Simple. To play with my friends. For those that have known me for a while, but not necessarily on the video game level...Bryant, Andy and I always said that playing as a team against some other enemy would be fucking awesome. Since I was the only one with a decent PC we couldn't play good shit like MOHAA or now Call of Duty. Socom despite all it's flaws (and there were a lot) was still loads of fun.

It was the thrill of the kill. The chance that you could be killed 10 seconds into the game. No chance to fucking run away and/or just turn around and shoot and get lucky. If someone with true aim had your ass in his sights, you would more likely than not be dead. There was something at stake in the game...you didn't want to sit out and wait for all your buddies to die if you fucked up. There is the reason why Socom appealed to me most. (Besides the reason of playing with the best team money wishes it can fucking buy) Alas like I told Captain, "Its like they fixed all the shit they got wrong in Socom and added new shit to fucking fix in Socom 3." Let's get right down to it...this blog is mainly for Kevin and Brian who at one point my invest in this game. In the words of Dre3000, "I'm...I'm....I'm just being honest."

First thing I fucking notice is the fact that there is a energy bar. A fucking energy bar! What is this shit? If I wanted energy I'll play Unreal and soon Half Life 2. This energy is forgiving. You can get shot in the neck and it only takes off about 1/3 of the energy. Don't believe me? I got to shoot a enemy who wasn't playing from point blank range. I would have shot him in the head but I decided to see if the hit detection was as fucked up as I thought it is. Let's just say I'm not satisfied. The energy is basically for all the people that complained that they hated waiting for the game to end. I don't care how you want to argue this point but you have to give me the fact that they specifically put this in for those people who don't want to learn the hard way. This handicaps good players to make it more even. Sounds like affirmative action to me...in a non-racial sort of way.

"Brendan...calm down...you just have to adjust your gameplay with Socom2 just like you did with the first one." Maniac Cop

No. I had to adjust my gameplay in the fact that I had to learn how to shoot with this third person shit. After playing MOHAA and it being a true FPS it is hard to go to a third person view where the camera sits so high that sometimes your vision is obscured even though your guy can actually see just fine. I can't describe it unless you played Socom. This also helped you jump out at people by using the camera as if it was a mirror that Tom Hanks uses in Saving Private Ryan to view around corners. Even though I learned how to use it to my advantage...I don't think it was very fair for all the people I've killed using it.

Socom plays pretty much about the same as Socom 1 so Maniac cannot be talking about the control scheme so he must mean my strategy. Look at these new levels. I told you it was going to be a camper's paradise and I'm correct. If you say I'm wrong...I really don't get it. What is a camper's paradise then? Other than these levels that we were playing last night. On a side note however I'd like to thank Andy for trying to keep me calm and lending me some confidence in my game.

"Brendan you are awesome at strafing and keeping your target in your crosshairs..." Maniac Cop

This is a little taken out of context. I'm pretty sure he said this in combination with the first quote, but this will do without me reading it wrong. Kevin you are going to love this. After being relatively new to the FPS genre....errr...excuse me TPS (third person shooter) it took you a while to learn the art of strafing in a circle and keeping your sights locked. No matter what my team says, this game takes that skill away. Should I not get rewarded for mastering this technique (which I can thank GoldenEye for)? Your crosshairs widen as you walk. I understand why they did this, but after being in gun battles now I realize that they made it too loose. If Seals shot like that then they might as well kill themselves. At least Andy admits that it takes too long to kill someone now....which plays into the energy rant on the top. The only way you can get true aim is to stay still. Staying still...I'm pretty sure that is called camping.

Here is a hypothetical quote that I know both my teammates are saying, "Well I did awesome last night so Brendan is full of shit and he's bitter because he sucks."

You guys did do awesome...you guys adjusted so fucking quick I am in awe and bow down to your skills. Yet I want to make one point (and like I told Bryant on IM, I'm not saying this to take away from your game or how well you played last night) Bryant got a shit load of kills using the shotgun. Shotguns are considered the cheapest shit in ANY FPS/TPS. I'm sorry to say that Socom didn't change this mold. Bryant was able to pop out around a corner and make some bitch fly. If I pop out with a gun like an AK-74 I will not have the advantage. Why? Because since you are strafing out your sights are fucked up and your shots inaccurate beyond belief. If you think I'm exxagerating I would at least think that both you two think I'm just as good as you guys in doing this pop and kill manuever...so why did I suffer last night? Shotguns are pretty much a one hit kill. The DE5.0 is still as poweful and the sniper rifles seem more forgiving...I killed someone today by shooting them in the foot...I'm pretty sure no one else shot him. The real guns however were stripped of their one hit kill potential. I'm not saying thaty they dont' do it from time to time...but tell me honestly how many one or two hit kills you had last night.

"Are you kidding me?...oooookay (sarcastic)." Terri Horiuchi

This is when blood was flying out of some enemy that I was right next to...or should I say behind them....got about half a clip off until they turned around...me with full health bar...and they turn around...more fighting and strafing (at this oint I was cussing the fuck out because in ANY DECENT FUCKING GAME that guy should have been dead...and trust my mom...I was hitting this guy in the chest) and I end up losing. I have no fucking idea how, but I lose. This didn't just happen one time...but just about every other round.

"EGM gave it awesome reviews." Future quote by Maniac Cop

First off this isn't a valid argument SINCE they don't rank games against PC games which are the dominating force in FPS. Call of Duty is honestly more fun right now and if they reviewed that game they would probably give it all 10's...oh wait...EGM members like to camp and lurk. The way they jock the shit about hiding in bushes and so much more foilage and the light affecting your vision so someone entering a building can't see you in the corner...they jocked that shit...and their orginal Socom previews and reviews...every single one was like "YOu can run and gun, but you will lose to a team playing stealthy aka camping.

Bottom line for the negatives...this game tried to even it up against shitty players and top players. I was a top player. My team were top players. For those that have seen us in action you know that we are still stealthy yet aggressive and round times hardly last past 2 minutes. I would really like to see Andy and Bryant use the guns that we are used to using to see if i'm just completely bullshit in my views. You probably think I don't like the game because I don't feel as dominating as I did in Socom 1. Change is hard and usually with change it's out with the old and in with the new. This new style of play is the same Socom controls, but completely different type of game that I jsut don't enjoy playing as much...here is a simple comparison for Kevin and Brian...it's playing Halo with shields vs. playing Halo with little or no health.

This just came in from Andy...I'm not going to copy everything but basically it reads, "Brendan our clan specializes in quick clean kills with high percentage shots...now we just have to wait for the right moment and get in a good 5-6 clean shots now. What you consider less skill is actually more skill....basically take the game up a notch."

Look at what you are saying Captain...waiting to pounce, waiting to strike...I have shot people 5-6 times and the only way to do that is to shoot them when they are not moving...the "good 5-6 shots" is the time it takes for some person who doesn't have the subtleties down to turn around and even when facing you, to get one lucky shot in that will end your round...but you waited for the right moment..you connected with four quality chest shots...should you not be given the right live and keep playing? You want me to say it...WE WILL NOT BE AS DOMINANT IN THIS GAME AS WE ONCE WERE. IN FACT I BET YOU RIGHT NOW THAT NOBODY WILL BE AS CRAZY AS THEY ONCE WERE. I'm not just talking about us, but I'm talking about the whole percentage of people that died numerous times to get where they are in how the Socom universe works.

"But like you said...you have to die a shitload in order to see how this different Socom universe works." Maniac Cop getting smart with me in about 3 hours after I post this blog.

The gameplay is the same...you use the camera to your advantage and you see your target before they see you....only this time you have to be right next to them because your normal gun doesn't get the range it once did and you can't be moving to get a true aim. I'm not saying that this game is flawed is everything it does...all I'm saying for those thinking of buying it is that you will not be buying Socom 1 with new shit...you will be buying a game that was made for everything to be somewhat even in skill so they can sell more copies. Don't fucking forget that the whole name of the game is to appeal to a mass audience and this mass audience we are talking about were the idiots online that never got to play a FPS online because they are too poor to buy a decent PC and/or they can't hang with the PC crowd...Andy is scoffing at what I'm saying right now, but I gaurantee you that if Andy had a good PC with Call of Duty he would like it much better.

I was going to end this with a positive note, but I'll do that later because this is longer than anyone wanted to read. I think I present some very good points and on that note I'm leaving the FE clan until I can help them move up the ranks instead of bringing them down.

SushiBoy KIA

This part has been edited for it it is a key point in my argument. I said earlier that one and two hit kills are pretty much gone, but they still exist. One can make the argument that it means it just takes as long as you to kill them than for them to kill you. This is true. However it is the key point of you having the advantage for seeing someone first or knowing how to move your player around better than the next guy...even though you get the jump or you find a guy facing the wrong way...it doens't mean you will win the fight...if any person were givin this situation in real life...i'm pretty sure 90 percent of the people would be able to kill the fucker in one or two shots expecially if they are facing the wrong way.

Video game endings. That's the subject I'm opening with. Not interested? hah, too bad suckas. I gotta keep thinking of something fresh to add to this blog :)

I'm late with my blog of the week. Why? Well, I'm blaming it on Disgaea. I finally beat it last night after 71 hours of fun. The ending was only about 5 minutes long, but it left me feeling good about the game. I put down the controller, contemplate the game for a bit as I watch the credits roll, and see that it has a nifty "New Game +" feature. I was tempted, but I decided against it, and went to my desk to read some reviews on the game and look at the gamefaqs. I look at the faq list and freeze. "Ending Guide."

....

Damnit.

I was playing around at the beginning and accidentally killed one of my characters. JUST ONE. And the condition to get the "good" ending is to... you guessed it. Not kill any of your characters. So I'll be doing that new game + thing.

But it got me thinking about multiple endings. This was the second game that I got a "bad" ending on in recent memory. The first game was Silent Hill 2. But you know what? I liked that ending. The SH2 I beat ended on a darker note, but it was satisfying. It made sense, and I went away happy. I look at the other endings, and they just don't look as appealing. Is it because I got this ending first?

Chrono Trigger in all it's 12 endings, would end the same way, except for maybe a frame or two or a "secret hidden room." A lot of it was weak. I'm not saying I didn't like the ending, but the multiple endings really weren't vastly different. It didn't make me want to replay the game at all.

Should all video games have multiple endings? I'm curious to know if there were any good ones or bad ones that come to mind. I would like to think the video game industry is trying to tailor the games to the way a person plays, as with Silent Hill 2. It's probably just my wishful thinking though.

But enough about that for now.

I went in for my 3rd interview on Saturday. I guess they're really serious about the whole process. Actually, I know they are. I should get a call today or tomorrow if I get the job. Oh yeah. CEC Entertainment = Chuck E. Cheese. I'm applying for a "manager" position. It is just like the Scandia job, but with a bigger staff, cost management, and smaller kids :) Can you believe if I get the job, I have a 6 week training program down in Newark? What the hell is that? But they say they'll work around the school schedule, and hopefully I'll learn some more points about managing people.

This month is the last month of the lease, and I gotta start looking for a place to live. I'll be getting two new roomates and we're looking at houses in the Rohnert Park area. The cost isn't that bad, about the same for a 3 room apartment up here. But I hate yard work. I've always hated it, especially when my parents made me mow the lawn 'n stuff. But I am looking forward to having a place without punk ass downstairs neighbors. But I'll save that for another day.